Suez Canal Container Ship Attacked

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at Jerusalem Post

Suez Canal Authority says attack attempted on container ship
By REUTERS

CAIRO - A "terrorist" staged an unsuccessful attack on a container ship passing through the Suez Canal on Saturday, in an attempt to disrupt the flow of ships through the waterway, the head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish said.

The Suez Canal is a key global shipping line which is secured by the armed forces.

"One of the terrorist elements has carried out a failed attempt to affect the movement of ships in the Suez Canal by targeting one of the passing ships, Cosco Asia," Memish said in a statement about the Panama-flagged ship.

"The attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried. The situation was dealt with strictly by the armed forces," he said, adding that the traffic of ships is moving normally.

The statement did not specify what kind of attack it was but shipping sources told Reuters they heard the sound of two explosions as the ship passed through the waterway.

Egypt has faced a string of militant attacks in the lawless North Sinai region after the army, prompted by mass protests, overthrew the country's first elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

More than 1,000 people, including 100 security officers, have died in protests demanding the reinstatement of Morsi. The government launched a crackdown on violence and militancy, arresting many leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters over accusations of inciting violence.

It was not immediately clear whether the attempted attack was related to the ousting of Morsi.

US warship the San Antonio passed through the waterway on Thursday to join other ships in the Mediterranean that could be used in any strike against Syria after a suspected chemical weapons attack.

The armed forces have issued an order to strengthen their security measures along the Suez waterway, Memish said.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at Deutsche Welle

Egypt
'Terrorist' attack on Suez Canal ship fails

Egyptian authorities have reported a failed attack on a container ship in the strategically crucial Suez Canal. It comes as the security situation in the North Sinai region becomes increasingly precarious.

The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Mohab Mamish, confirmed that an attempted attack had been made on a Panama-flagged ship on the Canal on Saturday, but said the attempt failed.

"One of the terrorist elements has carried out a failed attempt to affect the movement of ships in the Suez Canal by targeting one of the passing ships, Cosco Asia," he said in a statement.

"The attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried," the statement went on, adding that the armed forces had dealt "strictly" with the situation and that navigation of the waterway had continued virtually uninterrupted.

The statement did not say what the nature of the attack was, but some sources have spoken of hearing explosions at the time it occurred.

Nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) of the Suez Canal provides a vital link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and is secured by Egyptian armed forces. Mamish said they had been ordered to step up their security measures along the waterway following Saturday's attempted attack.

Lawless region

Egypt has seen a string of militant attacks in the already lawless North Sinai region around the canal after the army ousted the country's first elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on July 3. The army recently launched a major operation in the area to combat several Islamist militant groups that operate there.

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On Saturday, the military reportedly arrested a top Sinai militant, Adel Mohammed, also known as Adel Habara, in the regional capital al-Arish. The official Mena news agency said other "terrorists" were arrested along with him.

Habara has already been sentenced to death in absentia for killing soldiers in the Nile Delta last year, and is also suspected of leading an ambush last week in which 25 off-duty policemen were lined up and shot dead.

More than two dozen security men have been killed alone since July in the North Sinai region.

tj/ccp (Reuters, AFP, AP)

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at BBC News

1 September 2013 Last updated at 00:23 ET

Egypt attack on Suez Canal ship 'foiled'

Egyptian officials say they have foiled an attack on a container ship which was aimed at disrupting shipping in the busy Suez Canal.

Canal authority head Mohab Mamish said a "terrorist element" targeted a Panama-flagged vessel on Saturday, but it was undamaged.

There were reports of two blasts, but details of the attack are unclear.

Egypt's Sinai has been hit by a wave of violence since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted from power.

The unconfirmed reports said there were two explosions at 12:30 GMT on Saturday as the ship, Cosco Asia, passed through the waterway.

"The situation was dealt with strictly by the armed forces," Adm Mamish said in a statement.

The Suez Canal - between Port Said and Suez - is a vital global trade route between the Red Sea and Mediterranean.
'Militant arrested'

It is unknown whether the attack was linked to the continuing protests by Muslim Brotherhood supporters against the 3 July ousting of President Mohammed Morsi by the army.
map

Hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters have been killed in a recent military crackdown and a further five civilians were reported killed in clashes on Friday between opponents and supporters of the deposed president.

The unrest has spilled over into the Sinai peninsula, where Islamist militants have carried out frequent attacks on the authorities. Two policemen were killed in separate attacks on Friday, the interior ministry said.

In a separate development, a top militant was arrested in Sinai on Saturday, Associated Press reported, on suspicion of involvement in an ambush last week in which 25 off-duty policemen were shot dead.

The group behind the attack is thought to be linked to al-Qaeda.

On Saturday, an al-Qaeda leader in Iraq released an audio message in which he called on members of the Egyptian army to defect.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at The Telegraph

Failed 'terrorist' attack on Suez Canal ship

A container ship in the Suez Canal was the target of a failed "terrorist" attack on Saturday aimed at disrupting traffic through the key waterway, the head of the Suez Canal Authority said.

The Egyptian army have ordered heightened security measures at the strategic sea rout Photo: ALAMY

4:52AM BST 01 Sep 2013

Admiral Mohab Mamish confirmed that "a terrorist" had launched the attack against a Panamanian-flagged ship, adding in a statement that "the attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried".

The statement gave no details of the nature of the attempt at 1230 GMT Saturday, but sources said they heard loud explosions from the container ship which had been passing through the canal.

The Egyptian army gave the order for heightened security measures at the strategic sea route.

The Suez Canal dealt with a normal volume of 45 boats on Saturday with another 55 expected to pass through on Sunday.

The army recently launched a major operation in the North Sinai peninsula, around the canal, where several Islamist extremist groups operate.

On Saturday an al-Qaeda front group based in Iraq and Syria called on Egyptians to take up arms against their country's military.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) also dismissed the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, as "evil" for supporting democracy and seeking to win power through elections.

Following massive popular protests against the Islamist Morsi, the army removed him in a July 3 coup and imprisoned him.

At nearly 200 kilometres long, the Suez Canal is owned by Egypt but governed by an international treaty that guarantees free navigation.

It provides a vital link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

The US military enjoys special privileges due to its long-running alliance with Egypt, allowing American naval ships to jump the queue of vessels to transit the canal.

The US Navy has deployed five destroyers to the eastern Mediterranean, a defence official told AFP on Thursday, as expectations grow of an imminent strike on Syria.

Edited by Steve Wilson

[The Stig]

As far as I'm concerned the Egyptian military mowing down Muslim Brotherhood terrorists is a good thing.

Attacks on the canal, on the other hand, has the possibility of greatly effecting the world as a whole.

That's a very very bad thing.

[bacpacker]

Here are a couple more articles on the Suez attack.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.544708

Egypt arrests three who machine-gunned ship in Suez Canal
Authorities also say they have captured suspected mastermind of ambush that killed 25 police in Sinai.
By Reuters and The Associated Press | Sep. 1, 2013 | 7:15 PM

Egypt has arrested three people who opened machine gun fire on a ship passing through the Suez Canal, an army source said on Sunday, playing down what the waterway's chief described as a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, Egyptian security forces reported apprehending a top wanted militant with links to Al-Qaida in the Sinai Peninsula.

During Saturday's unsuccessful attack, the Panamanian-registered container ship COSCO ASIA came under fire in a northern section of the Suez Canal, a major global trade artery which is secured by the Egyptian armed forces.

"There was an attempt to disrupt security in an area called el-Qantara as they fired at a ship in an attempt to halt (traffic on) the waterway," said the army source.

"Three were arrested and they have been dealt with ... This attack could not have harmed the ships," the source said, without giving any details except that an investigation was underway.

On Saturday, the head of the Suez Canal, Mohab Memish, said a terrorist had carried out the operation, suggesting Islamist militants could have been behind it. Suez Canal Authority sources said a rocket-propelled grenade had been used in the attack.

The sources said that even if a grenade had struck the ship, it would have had a limited impact. The aim, they said, was to create a media frenzy and hurt Egypt's image.

Asked if the military suspected the attack was part of a broader campaign to disrupt the movement of ships, the army source said. "I don't think so because the Suez Canal is secured."

Any major attack on the Suez Canal would hammer Egypt's economy, which depends heavily on revenue from the 192-km (120 mile) waterway, the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe.

Egypt has faced a rising number of militant attacks on security forces in the nearby lawless North Sinai region after the army, prompted by mass protests, ousted the country's first elected Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, on July 3.

Growing insecurity in Sinai worries the United States because the area lies next to Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as well as the Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority has received threats from unidentified groups which said they would target the waterway, security sources said. At one point the military blocked a bridge over the canal as a precautionary measure because of threats.

Ambush 'mastermind' arrested

Also on Saturday, Egypt detained a militant suspected of leading an Al-Qaida-linked group in an ambush where 25 off-duty policemen were lined up and shot on August 19, security officials said. The attack was one of the area's worst militant strikes on security forces.

The man, Adel Mohammed, also known as Adel Habara according to one official, has already been sentenced to death in absentia for killing soldiers in the Nile Delta last year.

Earlier Saturday, security officials said 31 suspected militants have been arrested since Thursday, including two caught seeking treatment for wounds sustained in clashes with police.

In other violence nearby, a riot police officer was shot in the chest Friday while on patrol in the city of El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai governorate, the Interior Ministry.

According to one security official, four militants have also been killed since Thursday. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Habara's arrest could potentially undermine militant activities in the area. The security official said two other suspects were arrested along with Habara.

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...627513411.html

Ship attack foiled in Suez Canal
Officials say there has been an unsuccessful attack on a Panama-flagged container ship passing through the waterway.
Last Modified: 01 Sep 2013 01:02

Suez Canal authorities have said that a "terrorist" staged an unsuccessful attack on a container ship passing through the canal in an attempt to disrupt the flow of ships through the waterway.

The Suez Canal is a key global shipping line which is secured by the armed forces.

The attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried

Mohab Memish,
Head of Suez Canal Authority

"One of the terrorist elements has carried out a failed attempt to affect the movement of ships in the Suez Canal by targeting one of the passing ships, Cosco Asia," the head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish said in a statement on Saturday, referring to the Panama-flagged ship.

"The attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried. The situation was dealt with strictly by the armed forces," he said, adding that the traffic of ships is moving normally.
The statement did not specify what kind of attack it was but shipping sources told the Reuters news agency they heard the sound of two explosions as the ship passed through the waterway.

Blocking the canal would have an immediate effect, especially on exports from Asian factories to markets in Europe and the United States

Egypt has faced a string of attacks in the North Sinai region after the army, prompted by mass protests, overthrew President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

More than 1,000 people, including 100 security officers, have died in protests demanding the reinstatement of Morsi.

It was not immediately clear whether the attempted attack was related to the ousting of Morsi.

US warship the San Antonio passed through the waterway on Thursday to join other ships in the Mediterranean that could be used in any strike against Syria after a suspected chemical weapons attack.

The armed forces have issued an order to strengthen their security measures along the Suez waterway, Memish said.

- - - Updated - - -

Stig, I am totally in agreement with your out look on the MB getting hosed in Egypt. They are no friends of ours and deserve no support from us. SHittingTF in the Suez would be a major ordeal to the world.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE at Reuters

USS Nimitz carrier moves into Red Sea

WASHINGTON | Mon Sep 2, 2013 9:46am EDT

(Reuters) - The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and four other ships in its strike group moved into the Red Sea early on Monday, U.S. defense officials said, describing the move as "prudent planning" in case the ships are needed for military action against Syria.

The officials said the Nimitz entered the Red Sea around 6 a.m. EDT, but the strike group had not received any orders to move into the Mediterranean, where five U.S. destroyers and an amphibious ship remain poised for possible cruise missile strikes against Syria.

Moving the Nimitz into the Red Sea was aimed at putting more U.S. assets in place if they are needed to support what U.S. officials still describe as a limited attack against Syria after it used chemical weapons against civilians.

"It does place that strike group in a position to respond to a variety of contingencies," said one official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The nuclear-powered Nimitz is accompanied by the Princeton, a cruiser, and three destroyers - the William P. Lawrence, Stockdale and Shoup, according to the officials.

They said there had been no change regarding six U.S. Navy ships now in the eastern Mediterranean, but military planners were reassessing the situation given a delay in the cruise missile strikes that had been expected this past weekend.

President Barack Obama on Saturday backed off imminent strikes by five destroyers off the coast of Syria until Congress had time to vote its approval. Defense officials said the delay gave them more time to reassess which ships and other weapons will be kept in the region - and whether some may be allowed to leave. Congress returns to Washington September 9.

The U.S. Navy doubled its presence in the eastern Mediterranean in the past week, effectively adding two destroyers to the three that generally patrol the region.

The destroyers are carrying a combined load of about 200 Tomahawk missiles, but officials say a limited strike on Syria could be accomplished with half that number.

Reuters reported Sunday that officials had rerouted the Nimitz carrier group, which was due to sail east around Asia to return to its home port in Everett, Washington, after being relieved in recent days by another aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman.

Officials said the USS Kearsarge, a large-deck amphibious ship, remained in North Arabian Sea, and there were no plans to move the ship into the Red Sea.

The Kearsarge, which carries 6 AV-8B Harriers, 10-12 V-22 Ospreys and helicopters, played a key role in the 2011 strikes on Libya. Two Ospreys launched from the ship helped rescue a downed F-15 pilot during that operation.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; editing by Jackie Frank)

Intended for the Syria issue (I posted this in that thread also) but she will be passing through the Suez on the way to the Med.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Hmmmmmmm, I believe I discussed the Suez scenario before. I guess now the little "sheites" might be making attempts. It wouldn't take much, but i won't discuss how. It's just these ships aren't combat ships and they are not built to take an RPG, placed in the right spot.........."all stop"........"set material condition Zebra"............"the vessel is not under command"...........in other words it's (DIW) dead in the water. Liquid Draino ain't going to unclog that pipe for awhile. Just shoot her in the rudder. It ain't that hard to do, even if they miss, the engineering plant is right there as well. So if you miss the rudder your going to start a real FUBAR situation in the engine room. Sorry I showed my hand, now tuck that away in your play book.

Now Egypt needs to continue to tighten security on the Suez..........however, it's a very.......long........canal.

[prepguide]

I've been squawking about this threat for awhile and I fear it is a very real and dangerous one. If shipping is reduced or worst, prevented from using the canal it will have significant economic impacts around the world.